From a tranquil plantation in South Carolina's low country to the halls of Congress and Beijing, an intricate web of murder and intrigue engulfs a discovery with global consequences. After their testy first encounter, former Army Major Riggs Blanding and graduate student Patina Gregors find notes that challenge U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting millions of American workers, as well as national and international economies. The document quickly lands the unlikely pair in the crosshairs of lethal agents who answer to a congressman, a powerful trade association, an adversarial union, and the Chinese government - all obsessed with controlling the paper's impact on themselves, their organizations, and billions of dollars in trade.